


Once Upon A Time

by fanetjuh



Series: Jonsa Week [28]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 13:17:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16409249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanetjuh/pseuds/fanetjuh
Summary: Jon is Rickon's Kindergarten teacher and Sansa has to pick her little brother up to go to the doctor. But teacher Jon is reading a fairytale to his class and Sansa wants to know how it ends.





	Once Upon A Time

**Author's Note:**

> Written for JonSansaWeek organized by JonSansaSource on Tumblr

“Once Upon A Time, in a kingdom far far away…” 

Sansa leaned to the wall while her lips curled up into a smile. She knew she should clear her throat or cough. She knew Rickon had a doctor’s appointment in half an hour and they wouldn’t make it if she would linger here any longer. She knew that Jon Snow was her brother’s teacher and they weren’t in a fancy bar where she could just flirt with him and offer him to buy him a beer or two. But still…

“There lived a young princess, locked up in her ivory tower, looking out over the endless dessert.” Jon continued reading, his eyes on the kids at his feet, all looking up at him as if he was some kind of young God.

Sansa crossed her arms over her chest and she stared at the young God too. Whenever she read a new book or story and fell in love with a fictional character, she secretly always pictured them as Jon. It was something she simply couldn’t help. 

When her mother had asked her, months ago, to bring Rickon to school on his first day, Sansa had complained about it. She had hated waking up an hour earlier to make the detour. She had hated having to rush her breakfast and skip her long hot bath. She had begged all her siblings if they couldn’t do it instead. 

But once she had met Jon Snow, the kindhearted teacher with a constant frown on his forehead, bringing Rickon to school had quickly become her favorite time of the day.

Not that she and Jon had really spoken much yet. Their exchanges were usually brief and consisted of a hi and a bye, of a how are you doing and see what Rickon has made yesterday. They spoke about the weather, about the new word Rickon would be learning that day. And they shared a lot of glances and smiles, without any conversation at all.

“Her parents had told her that one day a knight in shining armor would come to her rescues. And when that knight would come to beat the dragon who guarded her and to climb the tower all the way to the top only to carry her down over his shoulders, she would know that he was the prince she should marry.”

She had to interrupt his story. She had to get Rickon and put his jacket on. She couldn’t risk being late and missing their appointment. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to make her presence known. Not yet. Just a few seconds longer, she promised herself.

“But days passed. Weeks passed. Months passed. The princess in the tower grew tired of waiting. The frustration drove her that mad that she broke the bed into a million different pieces.” 

Sansa had never heard the story before, even though she had read quite some books and knew quite some fairytales. And just like all the children on the floor at Jon’s feet, staring at him with their jaws dropped and their eyes wide open, Sansa was mesmerized by his voice.

When she had been younger there had not been that many male teachers, especially not in Kindergarten. And if there had been, they had certainly not been this handsome and charming and galant.

“The princess noticed that one of the wooden pieces had a sharp point at one end and was much thicker at the other end. It maybe wasn’t a real sword, but it was better than nothing. The princess reached for the wooden sword and with a piece of her clothing she tied the sword around her waist. If a prince could climb up and down the tower, so could the princess, she thought. And the princess stepped out of the window, her hands and feet looking for the right stones to carry her down.”

Once in a while Jon turned the page of his book, but somehow Sansa was not entirely sure if the story he was reading was actually in there. Sometimes he turned the page after a few words already. Sometimes he waited three full sentences. Maybe she should ask him about it later. Or now. Actually she had to ask him about it now. But she wanted to hear how the story ended. She needed to hear how it ended.

“Her hands were bleeding and her knees were scratched when she fell into the dusty sand at the bottom of the tower. A shiver rolled down a spine when she heard the roar of the dragon, rushing towards her to prevent her from escaping. But the princess had her sword ready and determination burned brightly in her eyes.”

Sansa held her breath. She didn’t dare to move anymore. She didn’t even want to blink, afraid that even the slightest tremble could interrupt Jon, could remind him that she was here to pick Rickon up and get him to the hospital, could keep her from hearing the happily ever after at the very end.

“But the princess didn’t kill the dragon. The dragon couldn’t help it that he was forced to guard her tower and challenge anyone who would come and rescue her. Instead of fighting the monster, the princess told the monster about the rest of the world, about the other dragons, forced to guard towers when they could be doing anything they wanted wherever they wanted it.”

The kids leaned towards their teacher and Sansa realized she was doing the same. 

“And the dragon allowed the princess to climb on his back. They didn’t wait for knights in shining armor to come. The dragon brought the princess to wherever she wanted to be and then the dragon flew off to wherever he wanted to be. And they both live happily ever after, because dragons aren’t always monsters and princesses don’t need princes to save them.”

Sansa stepped forward. “Some of them do like to marry one one day, though.” She kept her glance locked with Jon's. “I’d say there’s nothing wrong with that.” She shrugged. “As long as it’s a prince who deserves a princess, because he knows they don’t need saving.” 

Jon stared at her, opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. 

“I'm here to pick Rickon up.” Sansa stared at the clock on the wall that had not stood still. “He’s gonna be ten minutes late for his hospital appointment already.”

Jon curled his lips up into a smile when he realized why. “So…” He scratched the back of his neck. “What about the princess one day running into her prince, at a random place, when she doesn’t expect it?”

Sansa smiled back at him. “And what about the prince taking her out for dinner, picking her up at 7?”

Jon paused for a moment and then he nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good possible ending.”

“Not an ending.” Sansa shook her head. “A beginning. The beginning of a new story.” She reached for Rickon’s hand and pulled him up from the floor. “And so the princess waits for her prince once more. But this time not locked up in a tower with a dragon to guard her.”

“This time willingly.” Jon finished her sentence. “Because it’s her choice.”

Sansa pulled Rickon with her to the hallway. “The princess already looks forward to tonight.” 

“And so does the prince.”


End file.
